Rib Injury (Torn Cartilage?)

[Achilles00]

Hi, everyone. I was an early practitioner of BJJ, having started in the late 90s when I was 17. In 2006, I took a very long break and just started up again about 6 weeks ago. I've kept myself in good shape, but boy does this stuff feel different on a 35 year old body.

Anyway, about a week ago I was grappling with a much heavier guy who was using his weight aggressively. Etiquette gripes aside, my real concern is that I felt a sharp pain in my ribs as he was stacking me. Not a crack or a pop, but a sharp, localized pain. I rolled with a few other partners without much or any additional pain, but at some point I went to roll to escape an omoplata and I felt another sharp pain in the same area and stopped.

The first couple of days afterward were rough, but I took it easy and it's been getting better each day. However, it's still sore to the touch, and my rib(s) are noticeably swollen/protruding in that area. I guess I could have broken something, but it doesn't feel that tender. Some of the guys at the gym said that I "popped" a rib and that my ribs would be permanently misshapen.

I probably should have seen a doctor right away, and I'll go see one this week, but I'm also interested in hearing some feedback from everyone here. Has anyone else had a similar injury? What was your experienced like? Thanks for your input.

 

[LatFlare]

sounds like its dislocated.

 

[Foppa21]

OP, like you said yourself, go see a doctor. Guys here are going to throw out all sorts of injuries. It's way better to get that stuff looked at by a professional

 

[BOWHUNTER]

I have come back after a 7 year lay off. Im 42 now. Im always getting hurt. Everyone wants to go hard on the 200lb guy.

I may start wrecking people.

My neck is fucked and my knee.

 

[Achilles00]

I have come back after a 7 year lay off. Im 42 now. Im always getting hurt. Everyone wants to go hard on the 200lb guy.

I may start wrecking people.

My neck is fucked and my knee.

See, that's the thing. I'm 5'8" and 150 lbs, and I roll pretty methodically. Always have. Seems like everyone wants to beat up on the little guy, too.

Anyway, I saw a doc today who said that the cartilage seems like it gave in/folded, which is making my rib stick out. Said the only treatment is rest.

 

[SpaceGinger]

How did you go with this rib injury? Any quick-er fixes or advice you can offer?

I got my ribs injured during my first ever roll 2 days ago by another white belt. Kinda funny cos I rolled with blue and purple belts and they just seemed to control me effortlessly without even feeling like risking an injury. This guy was going pretty hard and put his knee on my chest when I was on bottom and I felt a sharp pain. I've had a previous rib injury from boxing so I know what it feels like and now I'm worried it may take a few weeks to properly feel confident again. I did get some Arthexin from the doctor which really helps with pain relief but I doubt actually curing it.

What are most coaches/gyms thoughts on resting injuries? My coach is awesome but he didn't really seemed bothered when I told him my ribs were injured, just said go lighter and put me to drill with a girl with a knee injury. We still did a few takedowns which did hurt a bit at times. Should I just take a week off or go to training and just "try" to go light? I don't wanna seem like a pussy but also don't want to risk being sidelined for ages while suffering through training.

 

[Tripster]

Achilles00 - sorry to hear you hurt your ribs. It's nasty n as you've probably gathered, laughing, sneezing & coughing is hell.
I hurt my ribs in Dec gone and hurt them badly years ago doing MT.
It's ALWAYS best to let them rest, regardless of what your instructors say - listen to your own body! Usually takes 3-6 wks. After the first week I starting doing things I could control, deliberately without painkillers to see how things go - light weights, sit ups, lots cardio machines, bridge. Then triangles, choke/crunch and finally hip escape on non injured side.
I watched lots of videos too, focusing on side control attacks which helped when I returned. After 5 wks I went back to bjj but didn't spar or drill take - downs for a week or so. It healed fine.
Hope you guys recovering quickly.

 

[Stoic1]

8 weeks recovery for a rib injury. That means not going back to wrestle or do anything BJJ related. Everytime you go back and "tweak it" you reset the 8 week timer. There are no shortcuts to this injury.

 

[Odysseus]

I will preface this with please consult a medical professional before trying to self diagnose. I've had something similar to this happen twice over a 10 year period. In both instances it took me about 6-8 weeks to fully recover. I would not recommend rolling live for the first four weeks or so. I made that mistake when I started feeling better and tweaked it again. I found that light bjj drilling (with no partner resistance) and boxing could be done safely during the recovery period.